Breanna Campbell
Research Mentor(s): Adam Abraham
Research Mentor School/College/Department: Department of Orthopaedic Surgery
Presentation Date: 08/03/2022
Presentation Type: Poster
Poster Number: 5
Session: Session I: 12:30 – 1:20pm
Room: League Ballroom
Authors: Breanna Campbell, Brendon Baker, PhD, Adam Abraham, PhD
Abstract
With 30% of musculoskeletal disease primary care consults being associated with tendon injuries, tendinopathy represents a prevalent problem in musculoskeletal medicine. However, the lack of high-throughput drug screening with outcomes related to tendon function leaves current treatments inadequate. This study focuses on the development of micro-tendon tissues from primary tendon fibroblasts that are compatible with high-throughput imaging. Polydimethylsiloxane molds that consisted of 18 sets of cantilevers for the assembled micro-tendons to adhere to were attached to each well of a 6-well plate. A collagen-cell mixture is placed in the cantilevered wells, with media added to the outer well to provide humidity. From here the tissues form and contract, which cause the cantilevers to bend. The deflection of the cantilevers can be measured and using linear bending theory the force transmission at the cell scale can be determined. The calculated force transmission of the micro-tendon can be used to examine the fluctuations in tissue deformation for different treatments. With the optimal length and cross-sectional area of the cantilevers we can obtain an initial deflection and force from the micro-tendon. The tissue can then be treated to make the micro-tendon relax, therefore having a lesser force transmission and causing the deflection of the cantilevers to decrease. This behavior reflects what would be expected in tendinopathy. In further studies, the micro-tendon model can be used to test corrective drug treatments, with hopes that contraction will be recovered and the original deflection of the cantilevers and force imparted by the micro-tendon restored.
